He Said: Hancock

: 2 1/2 reels out of 5

2008 - Peter Berg, dir.
Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
1 hour, 32 min.
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.

SPOILER ALERT

Hey, it's a superhero movie, and it's got Will Smith and Charlize Theron...what's not to like, right?

Yeah, it's pretty good. Will Smith plays John Hancock, a drunk and disorderly superhero suffering from amnesia (the ER nurse asked him for his "John Hancock" and he thought that was actually his name). Hancock can fly and exhibits super strength and invulnerability, and a penchant for property damage and shoving things up peoples' backsides.

When Hancock saves his life, Ray Embrey (Bateman), a down-on-his-luck PR guy offers to give Hancock an image makeover. In addition to charm lessons and a new uniform, part of the prescription involves spending a little time in the hoosegow for his destructive heroics. While Hancock is playing nice with the other prisoners, crime begins to skyrocket. After a few weeks, the hero is released to thwart a bank robbery/hostage situation.

After Hancock saves the day with a minimum of carnage, he begins falling for Ray's pretty wife Mary (Theron). And here's the twist - Mary has super powers just like Hancock! A near kiss prompts her to throw his butt through the house into the street.

Turns out, they're inexorably drawn to each other because they are a "pair" of immortals, but if they spend too much time together, they lose their powers and become mortal again.

Yeah, it's a bit of a flaky twist. I would have been happier if they had played it straight - the basic premise is fine as is. A messed up superhero gets a makeover from the PR guy, has a few problems, but shows up to save the day when it really counts. That would have been a good movie all by itself, without the "twist".

Then there's the whole love triangle - Ray, Hancock, Mary (with a kid caught in the middle - Ray and Mary's son Aaron [Jae Head]) - that just grinds in some places.

It was okay. It was a short movie at an hour and a half, and I was left wanting more action and a more straightforward plot.